Automatic sewer-flushing device



R. A. IVIADDOX.

AUTOMATIC SEWER FLUSHING DEVIICE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. II, 1922.

I94E37- l rammed N0v.28,1922.

Patented Nov. 28, 1922,.

i ROBERT A. MADDOX., OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES C, CRAVVFORDpOE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

hAUTOllIl-HIIC SEWER-FLUSHING DEVICE.

Application led January 11, 1922.

To LZZ whom t may concern:

-Be'it known that l, Bonnin* A. MADDOX, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic tewern Flushing Devices, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates more specifically to improvements in construction on my sewer flushing mechanism illustrated and described in my United States Letters Patent No. 1,349,078, of August 10, 1920. In the' con,- struction illustrated in the above mentioned patent the tripping` bucket is mounted on the floor of the flushing well and adapted to project downwardly into the cavity directly below the well bottom which connects with the head of the sewer lateral, the bucket beingenclosed by a housing bolted or otherwise secured to the floor of the well. I have found inactual practice that my mounting the tripping pan on the floor and housing the same in, corrosion often takes place, and the discharge or emptying slot formed in the tilting end of the bucket oftentimes becomes choked and thus fails to efficiently perform its function of allowing the flushing valve to quickly re-seat. Also in the aforesaid construction should a leak occur in the housing the bucket would fill and prematurely flush the sewer. Further, as the tripping bucket in the above construction was disposed so that its discharge end projected in the cavity below the false well bottom directly in front of the sewer outlet when in a flushing position, back water pressure from the sewer would oftentimes have a lifting effect upon the bucket and thus render a flushing operation unsuccessful.

By means of my improved construction all the above recited difficulties and disadvantages are largely obviated, there being little or no danger of corrosion to the bucket or its operating parts or choking of its Huid discharge outlet. Furthermore, as the cavity or pit below the false floor of the. well is greatly reduced in area and all working mechanism is located above the well floor all danger of sewer gas affecting the mechanisms is entirely obviated.

A further object of my invention is to provide a sewer flushing mechanism of simplilied construction and so arranged and disposed within the well adjacent a sewer that Serial No. 528,529.

access to all working parts can be readily obtained without dismantling portions, and the parts may be renewed or repainted with little or no inconvenience.

The above. objects are accomplished `by means of the construction herein described,

`and illustrated in the acompanying drawings, in which:

The figure represents a central vertical longitudinal section througha flushing well and sewer pipe lateral leading thereto, p0rtions ofthe apparatus being shown in section.

Referring `more particularly to the accompanying drawings, 5 designates a iiushing well of usual construction, preferably formed of concreteand masonry, and located at the head of a sewer lateral 6;' `The bottom floor of the well is preferably inclined as at7 towards'the head of the sewer lateral in order that perfect drainage there of may be obtained. The top of the well 5 is covered by an inner man hole 8, and an outer man hole 9 which is approximately level with the surface of the street in which the well is located. Leading into thewell 5 at its top a water inlet pipe 10l provided on one end thereof with a globey valve 11, which maybe conveniently reached through the man holes 8 and 9 when it is desired to permit water to iiow into the well.

The bottom floor of the well is preferably formed of concrete, as clearly shown in the figure ofthe drawing, and adjacent the entrance to the sewer lateral pipe is a false bottom 12 preferably formed of wood which` has been treatedwith asphalt or other material to prevent damage thereto by action of the water inthe well.

Bottom 12 is provided with an opening 13 adapted to receive a valve seat 14 having a spider 15 secured thereto at its lower end, the spider being provided with a centrally disposedbearing or hub 16, in which` is formed a bore 17 adapted for the recepe.

tion of a. vertically disposed rod 18 which isv guided therein.

A flushing valve 19 adapted to register'` with the seat 14.A is secured to the rod 18 in any suitable'manner, and secured to the upper annular edge of the valve near its periphery is a vertically disposed hollow Teleeve, 20 closed at its upper end. By securing hollow sleeve 2O to the valve 19, which sleeve when in its closed position extends upwardly 55 drawing.

to within a short distance of the waterline of the well, the weight of the volume of water against the valve will be greatly reduced, and consequently its operation can be effected much more quickly.

Bolted or otherwise secured to the false bottom 12 of the well, is a vertically disposed supporting standard 21, to one side of' which adjacent the top thereof is bolted or otherwli-se secured a fluid discharge tank 22, open at its upper end. Mounted in tank 22 is a tripping pan or bucket 23 pivotally secured to bearings 211 secured to the inner face of tank wall 25, and is normally held in an upright or horizontal position when there is no water therein by the weight of the valve 19 and its connected parts. Pivotally connected to the bottom of pan 23, as at 26, is an upwardly extending link 2T, its upper end being pivotally connected as at 28 to one end of a walking beam 29 vwhich is pivotally mounted in a bearing 30 formed on the upper end of the supporting standard f 21. Valve sleeve 2O is provided on its up- 25 per end `with an eye bolt 31 which is engaged by the'lower hooked end of a link 32, the upper, end being pivotally attachedto the end 33 ofl the walking beam.

Connected to the bottom of tank 22 is a drain pipe 34, the lower end passing through false bottom 12 into the sewer cavity located thereunder. A water trap 35 is formed intermediate the drain pipe ends designed to prevent sewer gas from entering 35 the well when the flushing valve is in a closed condition.

. The operation of my device will be readily understood from the following:

As stated heretofore. the flushing valve 20 and its connecting mechanism is of such weight as to overbalance the weight of the pan or bucket 23, hence said valve. is always held normally on its seat and the pan or bucket is maintained in a horizontal position, as clearly shown in the drawing. Valve 11 is regulated so that a constant stream of water flows to the well. When the water reaches -a height `adjacent the top of the fluid discharge tank 22, water will flow through pipe 36 into the pan or bucket 23 until it overbalances the valve 19 and acts to open the same, the unseated position of the valve, bucket, and walking beam being clearly shown in dotted lines in the When the pan or bucket trips,

e water contained therein will flowslowly twardly therefrom through the discharge outlet opening 37 formed in the nose of the bucket, the water passing from the housing 60 downwardly through the drain pipe 34 to theV se'wer cavity located beneath the false bottom of the well. 1hen the bucket 23 becomes empty the weight of the valve will normally re-seat itself as it will overbalance the weight of the bucket and mechanism attached thereto. 1

From the foregoing description it will be perfectly obvious that by locating the tripping bucket and connecting mechanism wholly within the well, 1 obviate all`danger of backwater pressure from the sewer against the bucket, as was possible in the construction illustrated in my aforementioned patent, Further, by mounting the bucket in an open tank it will be observed that should any of the parts become disarranged or rendered inoperative, a person could readily enter the well and adjust the same with little or no inconvenience. Also, that the bucket and all the mechanism connected therewith may from time to time be readily ie-painted so that all liability of corrosion is entirely eliminated.

Vhat 1 claim is:

1. An 'automatic sewer flushing device, comprising a well into which a constant volume of water is admitted, the bottom of said well communicating with a sewer, a valved closure for controlling communication between the well and the sewer, a supporting standard mounted in said well, a fluid discharge tank having a fluid outlet leading therefrom secured to said standard, a tilting bucket pivotally mounted in said tank, a walking beam pivotally attached to said supporting standard, one end of the walk-l ing beam pivotally connected to the tripping bucket and the other end connected to the valve closure, and means whereby the bucket may be filled when the water in the well reaches a predetermined level to cause an actuation of the flushing valve.

2. An automatic sewer flushing device` comprising a well into which a constant vol-l ume of water is admitted, the bottom of said well communicating with a sewer through a discharge outlet in the bottom, a valve for said outlet` a fluid discharge tank having a fluid outlet leading therefrom supported in said well above the bottom thereof, a tiltable bucket mounted in said tank, means for admitting fluid to said bucket at predetermined intervals, and means connected to said bucket and valve, whereby when the bucket is filled with fluid the valve will be unseated to cause a flushing` operation of the sewer. c

1n witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 21st day of December, 1921.

ROBERT A. MADDoX. 

